The present invention generally relates to enhancing and improving current procedures for testing the integrity of newly installed water distribution systems for the purpose of preventing and eliminating water leaks caused by bad solder joints, bad glue joints, internal impurities or improper piping assembly. The present invention also relates to metal or plastic plumbing systems and may be used in domestic plumbing systems and commercial plumbing applications including fire sprinkler applications.
Past history has shown that leaks caused by bad solder or glue joints cause significant property damage and cost of repairs, mold and mold remediation, insurance claims, loss of goodwill with the plumbing system purchaser and the plumbing system installer, and increased workloads and stress on plumbing installation service departments and operations. In the context of new construction, major property damage and loss claims result when plumbing systems fail due to bad solder joints, glue joints, defective material, material damaged by others or faulty plumbing system installations after the plumbing systems have been covered with drywall or other wall coverings.
By way of background, current pressurized piping systems are often inadequately tested during their installation to determine whether any compromised pipe joints or piping components exist before they are placed into service. Often, the piping system contains contaminants from the installation process which over time can cause problems with regard to leaks being exposed due to internal contamination and intermittent use. Plumbing system contaminants can clog or foul plumbing fixtures over time if not removed from the plumbing system.
In the context of original home construction, plumbing systems are often left stagnant for periods of time prior to initial use and more often filled with debris. Plumbing systems can contain two hundred or more solder joints or connections. The type of debris typically found in these systems includes solder, flux, glue and other construction debris. Excess flux used in the soldering process can give the appearance under normal testing conditions that there are no leaks or voids in the plumbing joints. However, after time and use, flux can be rinsed out of the system, giving rise to leaks often long after the original installation. Also, repeated expansion and contraction of the plumbing system due to thermal expansion stresses can cause joint fatigue and often results in joint failure.
The present invention utilizes means by which the original rough plumbing system is first flushed with recirculating ambient temperature water to remove the initial debris and contaminants from the system followed by recirculating elevated temperature water which is passed through a filter to remove the finer debris and contaminants. The plumbing system is then isolated and exposed to elevated temperature and high pressure water surges culminating with a hydrostatic pressure test designed to expose the existence of any leaks in the plumbing system in the rough plumbing stage of construction prior to enclosing the plumbing system in the structure.
Heretofore, the methods employed to test a plumbing system normally involved exposing the plumbing system to an elevated hydrostatic pressure test to expose any leaks. Plumbing codes typically require plumbing systems to be pressure tested at water pressure not less than the working pressure for the system or an air pressure test not to exceed fifty (50) pounds per square inch for a minimum of fifteen minutes. Both tests require the system to be leak free for a period of not less than fifty minutes.
The present invention is vastly superior to existing leak testing systems since it flushes the plumbing system free of debris and excess flux with elevated temperature water, shocks the system with pressure pulsations to expose any inadequate piping joints and hydrostatically pressure tests the system at an elevated temperature to expose any plumbing system deficiencies. The prior art methods for testing plumbing systems suffer drawbacks in that they are individually inadequate to provide the level of test security for the plumbing system and, in most instances, are not employed in leak detection methods.